Taiwan-based handset maker HTC is set to announce a partnership with Cathay United Bank, EasyCard and MasterCard to launch a co-branded card that can be inserted into an HTC smart phone to enable NFC payments nationwide.

According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the PayPass-enabled card will be unveiled at a joint news conference hosted by the partners on June 19, but it is already known that the device can be fitted into the memory card slot of an HTC Incredible E smart phone, enabling users to make credit card payments at the point of sale and EasyCard payments on Taiwan’s public transit network.

While only a few NFC phones are available in Taiwan, the island’s carriers are working together to build a standardized NFC environment and demand for these handsets is expected to hit 100,000 units this year, according to the news source.

HTC, which helped launch NFC services in China with China UnionPay in 2011, is also urging Taiwan’s government to develop a mobile payment platform wherein NFC payments services will be delivered through state owned banks, with the private sector to follow.